Welcome to the FM Author Spotlight, a series of interviews that provides an exclusive peek into the world of fan mission creators. In this episode, we are talking to Intruder, a veteran author who has been working in DromEd since 2005. His most recent mission, The Stone of Alarus, is a very enjoyable map that combines classic Hammerite and Bonehoard themes.
Aemanyl: Please introduce yourself and tell us how you discovered the Thief games.
Intruder: My name is Steffen. My (back then) 14-year old self discovered Thief in late November 2000. I remember it was a Friday afternoon and I was a bit bored, so I browsed the CD accompanying a PC gaming magazine and stumbled upon the Thief 2 demo (or "Dark Project 2" as the German version was called). Just out of boredom I fired up this demo and got frustrated pretty quickly because I never played any first person "shooter" game before and died rather often (...and loading a quicksave took several minutes on my machine back then). However, there was something about this game's atmosphere that got me hooked immediately. I then spent the entire weekend navigating the roofs of Dayport and with Christmas just around the corner I knew what I wanted to have as a Christmas gift :-).
Aemanyl: Do you have a favourite genre, style, or theme of fan missions?
Intruder: I usually prefer missions where the handcuffs are off, i.e. those that encourage exploration and feature multiple ways in and out so to speak. Hence, I’m not a big fan of the typical mansion heists.
I’m quite happy that we as a community have been indulged with so many great city and rooftop missions! This is also why I enjoy OMs such as The Haunted Cathedral, The Lost City, or Life of the Party so much. I know that you’ve asked for FMs and not OMs, but Life of the Party really has been groundbreaking for me because it was the first time that just getting to your objective was even more fun than the actual mission itself.
Aemanyl: Can you walk us through your typical workflow when creating fan missions? Where do you typically begin, and how do you approach the different stages of development?
Intruder: I assume that I begin like most authors by creating a rough mental model of what the mission should be like (i.e. a rooftop mission with focus on exploration or a bank heist that is focused on a specific building). The second step usually revolves around creating sketches of key areas or important buildings of the mission. For example, when working on Return to the Lost City I drew sketches of most areas I wanted to add to the mission (e.g. the ancient workshop/shipyard, several distinct residential areas, etc.) before doing any brushwork in Dromed. When this is done, I start working on one of those areas in Dromed by creating and texturing the brushes, adding initial sounds, furniture etc. until it is getting close to how I’ve envisioned it beforehand.
At this point in time I already spent a lot of time actually “playing” the mission (well, walking around and staring at stuff might be a better way to put it) just to see if it “feels right”. I then move on to the next area/building and develop the rest of the mission in a more organic manner. In my earlier missions, I stuck to a more layered approach of first creating all the brush-work, then adding objects, then the sound, then the AIs, and finally the readables and objectives. However, I’ve skipped that in favour of developing an area as far as possible before moving on to the next one.
Aemanyl: What would be your proudest DromEd achievement?
Intruder: Well, there are actually two. The first would be A Night’s Profit, a rather tiny FM by the usual standards but nevertheless an important step when viewed in hindsight. This was my first mission with proper Thief-like lighting (especially when compared to Keeper Investigations where a lot of areas were just too dark). Likewise, it has been my first “reloaded” mission where I took the core concept of an FM (Shipping and Receiving in this case) and implemented it in a completely new manner, thereby providing a new experience while bringing back tons of OM-memories.
The second one would be Return to the Lost City for its many interconnected pathways and exploratory gameplay. I also like how the integration of the bits and pieces of Break From Cragscleft Prison (i.e. the mines) blended into the Lost City theme.
Aemanyl: What are your main sources of inspiration for your projects?
Intruder: This has definitely changed over the last ten years. It used to be “everything” I was watching, reading or playing besides Thief. Nowadays it is the OMs of the first two Thief games. Maybe it’s just a bad case of “everything was better in the old days”, but I really enjoy recreating and re-interpreting the OMs. To me, they remain a rich and apparently never-ending source of inspiration. Which reminds me that I would still love to build something based on Into the Pagan Sanctuary or The Sunken Citadel, the only two TDS OMs that I enjoyed thoroughly and still have fond memories of.
Aemanyl: Would you ever like to collaborate with a specific fan mission author that you haven’t had the pleasure of working with yet? Alternatively, are there any creators whose style is similar to your vision of design?
Intruder: It’s really hard to name someone specific. I’ve worked together with so many talented and helpful people since my first FM in 2008. It’s just a great community, even after all those years!
Aemanyl: Are you currently working on any new levels?
Intruder: Unfortunately not, but as mentioned above, I’m still pondering the idea of “re-loading” one of those TDM OMs...
Aemanyl: What are some of your other interests, pastimes, or hobbies that you enjoy in your free time?
Intruder: This hasn’t really changed since the initial interview by Athalle back in 2014. It’s still astronomy, hiking, and reading for the most part. However, this list has been extended by “building tree houses” and “building Lego stuff” with my son who now “occupies” most of my free time 🙂.
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Thank you for reading! We hope that you've enjoyed this insightful interview with Intruder. Every Friday you can look forward to a fresh interview with fan mission authors, featuring both the rising stars and the seasoned veterans of our beloved community.
Stay tuned and see you in the next issue of FM Author Spotlight series!
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